Mind-Brain Lecture: Irina Mikhalevich (Washington Univ. St. Louis)
Simplicity is often viewed as a virtue in science. I argue that the concept of simplicity is incoherent unless the entity to be simplified is specified, and that, even when it is properly specified, the concept remains broadly ambiguous. This is because numerous means of simplifying are available for any given entity. I conclude that simplicity, far from being a scientific virtue, is a cumbersome heuristic that we are better off abandoning in making important judgments in the course of scientific research. Nonetheless, both simplicity and complexity do have a role to play in science – namely, as their own subjects of study. Separating simplicity’s role as explanandum from its role as a putative virtue crucially explains why the concepts of simplicity and that of complexity continue to have an important role in science.
